Throughout his Test career, Alastair Cook has been renowned for his remarkable powers of concentration at the crease.

Here, Press Association Sport recalls six of the best innings in his record-breaking career:

NAGPUR 2005/06 (104 not out, v India)

Alastair Cook marked his Test debut by scoring 60 and an unbeaten 104 in the first Test against India in Nagpur (Rebecca Naden/PA)

On debut, less than two days after flying 6,000 miles from an A tour in the West Indies to replace Marcus Trescothick, a 21-year-old Cook put his first Test half-century on the board. In his second attempt, he reached three figures for the first time – a remarkable achievement which served notice of an extraordinary career to come.

BRISBANE 2010/11 (235no, v Australia)

Cook, centre, Jonathan Trott, left, and Andrew Strauss, right, all made centuries as England ran up 517 for one in the second innings in Brisbane (Gareth Copley/PA)

The most memorable of all his centuries perhaps, this double gave England the belief they needed at the start of their first Ashes series victory down under in almost a quarter of a century. Andrew Strauss’ tourists looked washed up at the Gabba, with a 221-run first-innings deficit. But Cook, his captain and Jonathan Trott had other ideas – closing out the stalemate on 517 for one declared. He batted a mere 625 minutes, facing 428 balls.

EDGBASTON 2011 (294 v India)

Cook made his highest Test score against India at Edgbaston in 2011 (Rui Vieira/PA)

Purpose-driven, as England went to the top of the world rankings with an innings-and-242-run win, this demands inclusion too for sheer volume. As with his other tour de force efforts, there was so much to admire if relatively little to excite in almost 13 hours of crease occupation. Afterwards, typically,Cook was most concerned not about the runs he had scored but the six more he did not.

AHMEDABAD 2012/13 (176, v India)

England captain Cook starred in a losing cause during the first Test against India in Ahmedabad (Anthony Devlin/PA)

No glorious victory, or even a draw, for this forerunner of the marathon 263 he would undertake three winters later against Pakistan in similar conditions in Abu Dhabi. His Ahmedabad statement of intent was the first of Cook’s three centuries on a tour which brought England their first series success in India since he was in nappies. Following on, he played a near lone hand – Matt Prior provided most support – and it appeared in vain en route to a nine-wicket defeat. But once again, he had demonstrated what was possible – and after two more brilliant Cook hundreds in the next two Tests, England went on to prevail 2-1 on his maiden tour as captain.

LORD’S 2015 (162, v New Zealand)

Cook, left, and Ben Stokes, right, both made memorable second-innings centuries against New Zealand at Lord’s in 2015 (Nigel French/PA)

There was rich context here, at the start of an Ashes summer and with plenty of chattering still going on about Cook’s captaincy amid much administrative change above him. He dug in manfully and with great skill, for his first home century in almost two years – and after Ben Stokes took his cue with a blistering century, the fastest ever at Lord’s, England turned likely defeat into a dramatic, heartening and emphatic win.

MELBOURNE 2017 (244* v Australia)

Cook’s unbeaten 244 at the MCG helped England avoid a series whitewash against Australia (Jason O’Brien/PA)

It was in a losing cause in the series overall and this was his last Test hundred before his ton against India at The Oval. It was an important innings too, stopping the rot and the prospect of a whitewash on a dismal Ashes tour, far removed from the glorious one of 2010/11. Cook faced 409 balls across nearly 11 hours, Joe Root’s 61 his nearest rival. It was also an important reminder at the time, for those who said Cook was finished. He was not.

In the third and final part of our series, Michael Alexander speaks to politicians about how they handled the devastating closure of Michelin in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, and asks whether there’s anything Dundee – now facing a similar plant closure in 2020 – can learn.

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In the first of a special three-part series following the announcement that the Dundee Michelin plant faces closure in 2020, Michael Alexander visited Ballymena in Northern Ireland to find out how the community there is coping with the recent closure of their Michelin factory which led to the loss of 840 highly skilled jobs.

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